Umbral Net
|Row 6 title = Languages|Row 6 info = Titan|Row 7 title = Affiliation|Row 7 info = TOBOR-1|Row 8 title = Former Affiliation|Row 8 info = Pantheon of Titans|Row 9 title = Location|Row 9 info = Unknown}} RECONSTRUCTION, A LOT OF THIS IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE AGAIN JUST DON'T LOOK RIGHT NOW The Umbral Net (also called the Umbral Drive) is a mysterious plane of existence unlike the known material planes. It is a world composed of an indestructible, unalterable black material, the contours of which are distinguished by visibly glowing grid lines colored in either red, blue, or green. It was accidentally discovered by Erisandre Al'dan and her older brother, Seredar Al'dan, in their pursuit of restoring the immortality of the Night Elves. History Discovery After the destruction of the Well of Eternity during War of the Ancients, the Night Elves temporarily lost their immortality. With much of the population wiped out, and uncertainty eclipsing the future of the Kaldorei Empire, one scholar and Sister of Elune, Erisandre Al'dan, '''started to work searching for a way to prolong sapient life. Even after the Bronze Dragon Nozdormu blessed the World Tree Nordrassil and restored the elves' immortality, Erisandre continued to passively research, and over the millennia, she deviated from the sisterhood, acquiring a finer understanding of the Arcane, becoming a formidable Mage, an avid Astromancer, and an expert on Titan lore. In her research, she postulated about the nature of existence and reality itself, eventually arriving to a hypothesis detailing a theorized dimension. The her theory, this supposed dimension's reality could be manipulated at will, and that changes made to it could be translated easily to other dimensions such as their own. In the decade leading up to the Third War, Erisandre (with the help of her older brother Seredar) built a waygate capable of bridging another dimension with Azeroth. The configuration resulted in a portal that went to a place she called the "Umbral Net," "umbra" for the black color of its space, and "net" for the grid lines' resemblance to a fishing net. After testing the short-term effects of entry on petty objects and lesser organisms, Erisandre herself passed through the portal to record her findings. She discovered that in the Umbral Net, there was no need to breathe, eat, or drink, and considered this conclusive evidence in spite of her inability to manipulate the plane at all. By the end of the Battle of Mount Hyjal, however, Erisandre had fallen ill, showing symptoms of an unknown malady that they would later discover was of demonic origin. Though it started first with hemoptysis, over the course of a year Erisandre slowly lost control of her motor functions, and eventually became unable to speak. Conventional medicine as well as Druidic and Priestly magic were ineffective. With the immortality of the Night Elves spent in Malfurion's bid to slay Archimonde at the end of the battle, and his sister's illness worsening every day, Seredar feared for Erisandre's life. Against her wishes, Seredar delved into Erisandre's research notes and concluded for himself that the best chance of saving her life was to place her in the Umbral Net, that a cure may exist later in time, or that she might learn to warp reality and escape for herself. Fearful of the authorities finding and misunderstanding his sister's research, and of anyone discovering what he had done, Seredar ignited the portal, edged Erisandre inside upon her wheelchair, and destroyed the waygate. First Use Many years after Seredar Al'dan put his sister '''Erisandre in the Umbral Net, he had learned much about machines from the Gnomes, Goblins, and Dwarves. In his business ventures, he contracted people to built weapons, vehicles, and much more utilizing both Phlogiston, Magitechnology, and adapting off of the work of the Titans. He eventually discovered a way to reconnect with the Umbral Net using a complex magitech machine. This worked by creating a micro-portal between the dimension and the machine's internal components, creating a highway for information to transmit back and forth which would be displayed upon a large, monochromatic screen. In the safety of a secret underground bunker in Sholazar Basin, Seredar continued his business utilizing remote-controlled androids in his place, all the while using the machine to search for his sister in his free time. By this point, he was in charge of the Prime Federation, an independent and mechanized state. Considering the estimated breadth of the dimensional plane, it was by sheer chance that Seredar found Erisandre again using this machine, but at first he had not recognized her. The time she had spent in the Umbral Net had taken a toll on both her appearance and mind. Though she now stood, independent of her wheelchair, her form had been reduced to a green wireframe structure, unclothed, with the only considerable detail being on her face. Her voice had become more monotonous and artificial, and her personality had dwindled to a seemingly emotionless, objective-based husk. Though he mourned for the state of his sister, her presence calmed Seredar, and her utility as a pseudo artificial intelligence (a technology far more advanced than mortals could yet create) was undeniable. To distance her from the better memories of his sister, Seredar gave her the designation "T0B-OR1," which stood for "Trial 0 Baleful - Obsequy Remission 1," and she was used to store precious information in her memory and in an unknown manner within the Umbral Net, including schematics and other important documents. When the Nerubians invaded Seredar's bunker, the machine was damaged, and T0B-OR1 went rogue. Vengeful at the thought of having been abandoned, she drew in the rescue team into the Umbral Net, but they were persistent, managing to defeat the entity's projections and escape safely. When he was finally rescued from Azjol-Nerub, Seredar was forced to leave everything in his bunker behind and rejoin the world. Cyber Knights Prior to the Nerubian invasion of Seredar Al'dan's secret bunker, a series of classified projects called the Abyssal Projects were launched in order to increase the Prime Federation's militaristic power. Among these projects was one called the Cyber Knight Project, the goal of which was to create a manner of super soldier that would surpass any mortal man or woman. Research for this project led to the Umbral Net, where the nature of transitioning between one plane to the next was studied. What they concluded is that by binding a person's soul to a naturally-occurring, floating structure within the Umbral Net called an Umbral Citadel, one can harness the power radiating from White Wavelength nodes, increasing their agility, endurance and strength, as well as granting them new abilities. First Trials The first attempted Cyber Knight was a man named Nathaniel Broderick, a runaway Knight of the Ebon Blade who swore fealty to the Prime Federation in exchange for political asylum. Having undergone tests to become a Cyber Knight, his death on the Broken Shore proved an interesting challenge. In accordance with his contract, his body was further experimented on by numerous experts in magics spanning all of the Cosmic forces. Eventually, his spirit was recovered, and sent into the Umbral Net to bind with an blue Umbral Citadel. Similar to the machine that Seredar Al'dan used to communicate with T0B-OR1 (see "First Use"), a micro-portal was implanted into a chip and inserted into an android resembling a humanoid in a suit of armor. When Nathaniel awoke, it had become apparent that both his time as a Death Knight and the experimentation on his soul had caused him to acquire a similar, robotic demeanor to T0B-OR1. More beneficially, however, they discovered that not only did he have the ability to harness power from White Wavelength nodes, but having entered the Umbral Net as a spirit, unbound by magic, he could perform a number of supernatural phenomena as well. He was given the designation "Malfose," and assigned to the Millennium Order division of the Prime Federation's military. in Progress Uldir in Progress Wavelengths Wavelengths refer to the color values of the Umbral Net, taken from the color visible in the network of lines that connect the dimension's traversable surface. Blue Blue Wavelengths are thus far appear to be a footprint of intelligent design, often enveloping structures in the dimension which are more complex and detailed. When nearby Blue Wavelengths, the senses of sentient beings improve, and when standing atop them, sentient beings can perceive structures with the intended accompaniments such as sight (in the form of visible textures), sound, touch, and so on. Blue Wavelengths also do not appear carry with them the degradation effects that normally exist in the Umbral Net, and are associated with behavior that is expected of the material world. Green Green Wavelengths appear to be the most prominent wavelength throughout the Umbral Net, overtaking most of the dimension without regard for zone (Rendered or Non-Rendered). Because of this, Green appears to be a neutral Wavelength, and is not associated with any kind of intelligent changes following the Umbral Net's creation. Green Wavelengths are also where Umbral Degradation effects occur at a normal, imperceptible rate, and where the dimension deviates from rules of the material world. Red Red Wavelengths exist in select regions of the Umbral Net, particularly in Overwrite Zones. '''Besides the mortal association with hostility, Red tends to deviate from the behavior of other Wavelengths, such as blending into the grid lines of other colors in imperfect ways, causing nearby grid lines to glow dimmer, and similar effects. Though untested, it is theorized that the degradation effects of proximity to '''Green Wavelengths are worsened when in the Red, and thus it is considered highly dangerous. It is thought that there may be Rendered Zones of a Red Wavelength, but none have yet been found. White White has not been observed as a zone',' but instead as a source of intense light (visibly greater than the ambient light of the dimension) that occurs randomly all across the Umbral Net, at the intersection between two or more grid lines. When harnessed, White is considered a blank slate able to either remain blank, or adopt the color of the Wavelength that it originates from depending on the intended use of the wielder. It is these power sources that allowed the confirmation of matter's behavior when traveling in and out of the Umbral Net. Black Black is a theorized Wavelength, which is thought to have no properties other than being impassible and unalterable (just as other Wavelengths). It is thought that Black is the color of the wavelengths preventing motion beyond the intended boundaries of the Umbral Net, such as the height limit of the sky. It is still unknown if Black is in fact a Wavelength, or simply the absence of a Wavelength. If the latter, this would explain the void that exists in between the polygons in the Umbral Net. Dimensional Laws Biology When in the Umbral Net, organisms do not need any kind of energy in order to function, ruling out the need for sustenance or oxygenation of the blood. Damage When sentient beings are damaged in the Umbral Net, they cannot be bisected or otherwise damaged visibly. ... It is thought that there is an invisible, yet quantifiable value for how much abuse each object can take. Light The Umbral Net is somehow illuminated by an unknown source of all-surrounding ambient light, proven by the fact that sentient beings and visible objects in the dimension are constantly visible, and do not take on the glow of whichever Wavelength they are closest to. There are no shadows in the Umbral Net, however, Wavelengths do produce the same light distortion that occurs when an illuminated object (such as light bulb) glows. In addition, distant visibility in the horizon of the Umbral Net behaves oddly. When an entity perceives the space around them, a distance of about 3 miles (5 kilometers) is visible to the entity in any direction, but whatever lies beyond this boundary is masked in total blackness. This is to say that if there were a mountain-like structure in a Rendered Zone that exceeded this distance, the structure would appear to be abruptly and unnaturally cut-off until the beholder ascended to a higher viewing point. Matter & "Umbral Degradation" When a physical object from the material planes enter the Umbral Net on its own, it is converted into something else entirely, a variable number of units called Norgabytes. Objects and organisms also lose the majority of their physical properties such as the details in their shape, their texture, and other details of their outwardly perception while they remain in the Umbral Net. When these objects leave, they are re-assembled in the precise way they entered, however, it is observed that the longer the object dwells in Green Wavelength zones of the dimension, the less of its complexity and composition it retains. This is to say that an ornate sword, for instance, may lose any engravings in a month's time, any guard, pommel, or adornments in six months, and all but its most fundamental shape and material in a whole year; it is because of this that a blade is the best weapon to store in the Umbral Net, as its edge becomes impeccably razor sharp, and all other parts can easily be replaced. Sentient beings seem inexplicably exempt from this rule, or otherwise affected by it only in a vastly reduced amount. In fact, any object they come in contact with a sentient being from the material planes regains their physical properties, with some limitations: these objects cannot be smelled or tasted, and possess no Magical properties at all. An object with its physical properties restored by sentient contact is released, there is a brief delay before it is converted back into its simplistic form. If an object restored via contact with a sentient being is in liquid and gaseous form, any broken string of connection will cause any lost particles to return to the source. It is because of this that torches, for instance, appear to produce no smoke, and burn out. Physics Physics appear to work similarly within Green Wavelength '''zones as they do in the material planes, however, it is observed that there are some notable anomalies. One example is that, because there are no naturally-occurring liquids or gasses, there is no air resistance. In spite of this however, objects have a slight delay (of approximately half of a second) between when a force acts upon them, and when they are put into motion. Additionally, objects in motion still do tend to slow down, and at only only a slightly slower speed than on Azeroth. Gravity in the Umbral Net behaves similarly in this in that it is only slightly less than normal, allowing someone to jump no more than an additional half distance than normal. Sound Although there is no oxygen in the Umbral Net, sound somehow continues throughout space similar to how it does in an oxygen-filled environment. It is theorized that sound travels through '''Wavelengths, at a distance similar to the material world. Sound, however, does not appear to extend beyond visible areas (see "Light"). Time & Consistency Time passes the same way as it does in the material planes while dwelling on either Blue Wavelengths, and an imperceptibly faster rate on Green Wavelengths (a difference of a few nano-seconds). Although time passes, however, objects in the Umbral Net do not change unless a sentient being acts upon it. This is to say that, for example, if a sentient being has eaten prior to entering the plane, they will not be hungry again even if they leave much later. In the same way, however, if a sentient being in the plane is hurt by another sentient being, they will remain hurt upon leaving. On Red Wavelengths, time moves approximately two times quicker than in the material world. Geography The Umbral Net's space is vast and varied, but theorized to be finite. This theory comes from measurable resistance on the X, Y and Z axes, in the form of being unable to ascend beyond a certain height (due to an invisible barrier), and a perceived inability to advance in one or more cardinal directions for the same reason. The plane's flooring is made of an black solid that unalterable by conventional means, and any perceivable angle or contour is highlighted by a blue, green, or red glow. The Umbral Net is theorized to have either been hand-crafted, or procedurally-generated as a result of some form of intelligent design, and is divided into two general regions: the more complex, Rendered Zones, and the simple, one-dimensional planes called the Overwrite Zones, which contains both Non-Rendered and Unrendered areas. Rendered Zones The Rendered Zones contain various contours and structures, comparable to mountains, hills, forests, and other natural shapes on the material planes, however, they are immensely simplified into low-polygonal shapes, are often sparse, and have no texture to speak of. Because everything native to the Umbral Net is a solid, there is nothing comparable to lakes or rivers, although the surrounding area to locations such as these may still exist, if difficult to interpret. Rarely, there are structures that seem man-made, with more intricate designs and a higher number of polygons. While much of the areas in this kind of zone take on the Green Wavelength, there are some which are of a Blue Wavelength, often considered the more "finished" areas. Overwrite Zones The Overwrite Zones take their name from the dimension's comparison to a storage drive, in that they are completely and totally devoid of any kind of intricacy whatsoever. Whatever edges or contours these flat planes might have had are instead marked upon its near perfectly-flat surface in the shape of an intersecting grid line. The Overwrite is divided into two sections due to the difference in Wavelength. Non-Rendered The Non-Rendered areas in the Overwrite are places that have presumably not been touched at all, as they take on the Green Wavelength. They are theorized to be virgin areas, unaltered by even the hypothetical creator of the dimension. Unrendered The Unrendered areas are places that take on a Red Wavelength, thought to have been at one point a Rendered Zone, but broken-down into an Overwrite Zone due to some form of corruption'.'Category:Prime Federation Category:Places